All Licence Holders and Managers (landlords) must be accredited one of the following organisations within 12 months of the issuing of the licence. The organisations are listed below:

• London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS)
• National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
• Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
• Safeagent
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA)

The landlord must continue to be accredited by doing 10 hours of training a year for the duration of the licence.

The Council will run training courses with provided by some of the above organisations, that will be available for landlords to attend.  We will provide details and dates of these courses with Licences and these dates will also be published on our website.

The Council will consider other accreditation schemes but they should have a robust code of practice in place which requires those being accredited to comply with certain requirements in relation to landlord services. These requirements must include:

1. written rental agreement: this must always be provided and should include the rent terms, frequency of payment, and the period of tenancy or license
2. deposit: must be protected, the amount must be specified and a copy of how the deposit is protected must be provided to the tenant
3. Contact details: providing the tenant with their contact details including their address and two contact telephone numbers (mobile and landline) and an email address. Landlords should endeavour to respond to tenant communication in a prompt manner
4. availability: landlords should always be contactable and must respond within a reasonable period of time. If unavailable, tenants should be informed and given alternative contact details
5. reasonable notice of access: except in case of an emergency, landlords should give the tenant at least 24 hours’ notice, in writing and stating reasons, when access to the property is required by the landlord, contractor or agent
6. emergency repairs: these should be dealt with or made safe as soon as practically possible and normally on the same day that a landlord is notified. Emergency repairs are defined as any defect where there is a risk of danger to the health, safety and security of the tenant or a third party on the premises, or that affects the structure of the building adversely
7. urgent repairs: wherever possible these should be dealt with within three working days of a landlord being notified
8. property conditions: landlords must ensure that properties comply with legal requirements, including having no category 1 hazards or significant/multiple category 2 hazards. Where relevant, properties must also comply with licensing schemes and landlords will always comply with statutory notices served by a local authority
9. energy efficiency: landlords must work towards compliance with duties imposed upon them by the Energy Act 2011, especially related to requests for energy efficiency improvements by tenants and in relation to low ratings in energy performance
10. end of tenancy: the deposit should be returned promptly and in full, minus verified costs that are chargeable to the tenant’s deposit. Landlords should provide tenant references if requested
11. complaints: landlords must respond to tenant complaints promptly and accreditation schemes must have their own complaints process in place if complaints are escalated
12. dealing with tenants: landlords must always act in a fair, reasonable and professional manner in their dealings with tenants, and must not discriminate in their dealings with prospective and/or existing tenants or treat them less favourably than others because of their colour, creed, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, sex, marital status, sexuality, politics, or their responsibility for dependents